Delhi journalist covering Vyapam scam dead; Congress demands probe

Bhopal/New Delhi: A journalist from a Delhi-based TV channel who was covering the massive recruitment scam in the Madhya Pradesh Vyavsayik Pareeksha Mandal (Vyapam) fell ill and died in a hospital on Saturday, officials said.

Akshay Singh of TV channel Aaj Tak died in Jhabua on Saturday afternoon.

The Congress party voiced concern about the “more than 40 mysterious deaths of individuals associated with the Vyapam scam”. The party said the issue needs to be probed thoroughly.

Akshay Singh was in Madhya Pradesh for coverage of the recent deaths due to the scam in the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) or Vyapam.

On Saturday, he was in Meghnagar in Jhabua to talk to the family members of scam-accused Namrata Damor, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances.

Jhabua Superintendent of Police Abid Khan said that Akshay Singh and his two colleagues interviewed the family members for around an hour, after which the journalist suddenly fell ill. He was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Sources said that after the interview was over, Akshay Singh and his colleagues went to get some documents photocopied, when he fell ill and began foaming at the mouth.

The alleged manipulation in the selection process for government jobs in Madhya Pradesh, conducted by Vyapam, is being probed by a Special Investigation Team.

Congress leader R.S. Surjewala said in a statement: “The Congress party is pained at and condoles the untimely death of Akshay Singh, the Aaj Tak/India Today reporter investigating the Vyapam Scam in Madhya Pradesh.

“His death, coming after more than 40 mysterious deaths of individuals associated with the Vyapam scam raises very serious concerns and questions and needs to be investigated thoroughly and impartially.”

The India Today Group, in a statement, said it was deeply saddened by the untimely death of Akshay Singh, who was working with Aaj Tak as a special correspondent since December 2013.

It said Akshay Singh was part of Aaj Tak’s ‘special investigation team’ and was on an assignment in Madhya Pradesh investigating the Vyapam scam for the past four days.

“The cause of his sudden demise is not yet clear,” it said adding “We hope that doctors and law enforcement agencies are able to establish the cause of Akshay’s death.”